Tag: Arctic

• Alaska Travel

  

  As we are packing to return to Alaska, I am also planning our 2025 budget.  It is much easier to anticipate what we might spend now that we are on our fourth season!  Last year, I tracked the cost of all our mini-vacations, from 3 to 10 days. It cost us $2630 to drive our…

  Melissa Rudacille

  March 29, 2025

  Alaska Activities, Alaska Wildlife, Camping in Alaska, Fishing in Alaska, travel, Travel to and from Alaska

  alaska, Alaska Wildlife, Arctic, aurora borealis, Copper River Highway, Cordova, cost per day, Dalton Highway, Denali Highway, Denali National Park, fishing, Grizzly Bear, Hatcher Pass, Russian River, Tangle Lakes, travel

• Dalton Highway, Part II

  

  Everyone we met said the same thing about the Dalton,  “take your time”.  I would say we planned 5 days and they would relax a bit.  We only needed to average 200 miles a day.  Surely that would leave loads of time for fishing and exploring.  Actually it was barely adequate.  There was a lot…

  Melissa Rudacille

  June 6, 2024

  Alaska Activities, Camping in Alaska, Fishing in Alaska

  Arctic, Dalton Highway, daylight, fishing, lingonberries, travel, Yukon River

• Dalton Highway, Part I

  

  We had 4 wonderful (and tiring) days on the Dalton Highway.  We drove well north of the Arctic Circle on a quest to see wild Musk Ox.  Our trip deserves at least 3 posts, one on the animals,  one on the mountains and geography,  and one on time, distance, and sunlight.   As expected, we didn’t…

  Melissa Rudacille

  June 5, 2024

  Alaska Activities, Alaska Wildlife, Birds, Camping in Alaska, Wildlife

  alaska, Alaska Wildlife, Arctic, Bird Watching, Caribou, Dalton Highway, Owls, Ptarmigan, Wolf, Yukon River

• Utqiagvik, Part 4

  

  We didn’t see any live whales due to the ice. Once it melts they see bowhead, grey, orca and beluga whales. Residents showed us photos they had taken on their phones, some right from town. The pressure ridges in the ice grew during our 47 hours in town. The “pyramid” in the photo is just…

  Melissa Rudacille

  June 23, 2023

  Alaska Activities, Alaska Wildlife

  Alaska weather, Arctic, Utqiagvik

• Utqiagvik, Part 3 Midnight Sun

  

  The sun rose in Utqiagvik on May 10 and will not set again until August 2. Our last night we stayed up until 2 to watch the sun circle around the horizon. C stood in the exact same place and you can use the tops of the containers to see how far the sun moved…

  Melissa Rudacille

  June 22, 2023

  Alaska Activities, Life in Alaska

  Arctic, daylight, Midnight Sun, Utqiagvik

• Utqiagvik, Part 2 Polar Bears

  

  We hoped we would see polar bears, but knew it was unlikely. They are occasionally seen near town, but if they get close are hazed aggressively to give them a healthy fear of town. By midnight before our flight out we had tried twice to get a ride to Point Barrow, learning that the road…

  Melissa Rudacille

  June 19, 2023

  Alaska Activities, Alaska Wildlife, Life in Alaska

  71northtours.com, Alaska Wildlife, Arctic, daylight, Utqiagvik

• Utqiagvik, Part 1

  

  We walked on water. The Arctic Ocean is still frozen at the coast here at Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) though this section thaws every summer. This community and area is unique and wonderful. The majority of the population is Inupiat with a deep tradition of whaling and of demanding their self-determination as a people and community.…

  Melissa Rudacille

  June 18, 2023

  Alaska Activities, Alaska Wildlife, Life in Alaska

  Alaska Wildlife, Arctic, Utqiagvik